Max Hedgehog and Kaige Dragon Quest
by M. Briggs
Summary: The good old buddies and pals wake up to discover they have to escape a puzzle.  Will Max and Kaige work together to get out?  Traditional work to get out of the maze fic.


Material copyrighted its rightful owners. Based off Sonic the Hedgehog ABC cartoon Saturday morning. Kaige and Max unite. Known at FUS boards.

**Max Hedgehog (The Man) and Kaige Dragon Quest (Kaotix) **

By Mark Briggs.

I, Max Hedgehog, will holler at the sound of defeating Dario in Chrono Cross without the help of Plate Mail. I even did it without armor upgrades. The game makes it too easy for you if you know what I mean.

Now we have to get through the 'thank you for saving me' bit and voila. I'll save my progress. Just hold on. There, time to power off this play station so I can hit the hay.

_Love having a day off. Ohhh gotta remember to stretch before I lie down. And I should play my other game for the big tournament coming this weekend..._

Maybe I'll beat my arch-nemesis Kaige Dragon too. Wait until he sees the new moves I have prepared for the tournament...but the yawning means I'm too sleepy to think...anymo...

It went dark before I knew what happened. I awoke in a small room of gray brick stones. I felt myself to discover my clothing had changed. I get up and look around to see an outline of a door in the stone.

Someone replaced my nigh clothes with a brown outfit like the color of my fur. I was wearing black strap sandals. And also...a plastic collar! Oh, shhh...then I heard a noise as I clutched the collar!

A brick had been removed from the wall. I peeked into it noticing the same gray bricks on the other side. I bet the adjoining room is identical.

Ahhhhh! I screamed jumping backwards as a pair of glowing green eyes appeared on a face in the other room like dots infused with Mako energy. _Was this person a prisoner or my captor?_

"Who are you?" The menacing eyes squinted.

"Uh...Kaige...is that you?" I studied his eyes as Kaige tilted his face.

The red dragon spoke again. "I went to sleep then the next thing I'm here...with you. Are you responsible for this?"

He spoke in a monotone voice. I will fight him in the upcoming tournament. I wonder if this is one of his jokes. By now he can read my thoughts through my eyes.

I contemplated before shaking my head well enough for him to see it. I came closer to the hole.

"It looks like we've been abducted dude."

"My dragon perception tells me of your honesty. But I have no time for chit chat, Max. I can easily make out the crease of a door. Just one huff of my fire breath and..."

He huffed, and puffed, I was expecting the whole house to come down on us.

"Wa Waaaaaa...!" He gasped. "I can't use my powers. I bet it's this collar. How about you, Max?"

"I just tried mine. It's neutralizing my abilities. I can feel the collars drain."

"Fuck, I don't want to be an inmate here at all." Kaige pounded on the walls screaming to be released. I sat on the floor staring through the hole to contemplate the situation. Minutes later a voice spoke.

"Hello, Gentlemen." A misty voice emanated in disguise. "I know you two are fairly well acquainted. Why don't we let it begin?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, no, no, no...As Sonic would say. That's a secret, so your job is to stay out of pain and stress as you find the exits."

I heard Kaige scuffle around.

"What do you want with us?" I looked up at the ceiling.

"Can't you tell? You boys are always in competition. The rules are simple. You will work together to find your way out." The P.A. feedback carried. "I'd love continue chatting but there should be signs along the way. Have fun..."

"No, no!" Kaige screamed.

"Don't worry, man. We'll get out of this and be home in time to watch early morning cartoons."

"Don't joke, Max." The stone doors suddenly slid open to a stone hallway.

"Better go. We can't stay here." I walked into the hallway. White light cut by stone creases above emitted the only light source for us. Kaige probably has a similar hallway.

Fifty feet at the end had another door with another small hole in the wall leading to Kaige's hallway. I called out for him. He arrived a few seconds later on the other side.

I kept looking down the hole. "Well, this is going to be interesting, man."

"No way."

I turned to my door of small numbers engraved. 1, blank, 3, 5, and 7. Blank is unequal to 2. And underneath were smaller numbers of 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8.

"Dude, I have prime numbers on top and even on bottom." I said to Kaige.

"Me too, Max. I think the answer is 8. All the odds ones equal 16 divide by 2 is 8. Lets try it."

"I don't know." I definitely didn't know why but my finger pressed the 8 button with Kaige's at the same time. In a split second we were both pelted with a stun beam. We fell in great agony.

"Oh, crap...uh...not the right number." I shouted to Kaige. He stood up on his side still shaken by the pain. The collars prevented us from having adequate defensive powers.

"Wait, I have it. If we are suppose to work together that means one and one is two. Lets try number 1."

We both hit button 1 and viola. The door opened to a wider room. I peeked into mine before entering hoping another trap doesn't lie in wait. Nevertheless, we had to move on.

I enter to see Kaige standing on the other side through glass. He pounded on glass that didn't even wobble. Then a force field of some kind repelled him back safely. He was wearing a black outfit with his black hair amess by the stun beam.

"Well, this is already fun." Kaige said to the dissipating force field.

"Now what." I said to the air. On cue I heard a hum. Kaige's eyes widened. We both witnessed small holes form in the glass with a force field to keep us away. At the end of the room about fifty by fifty we saw a quick bolt of yellow energy fly through the hole. Then another through a hole in front of the doors from which we came. The doors shut.

"What is this? Dodge Force Field." Kaige asked. To our horror the holes in the walls shifted in the glass separating us. Two bolts at once flew by my head at my left about ten feet. Kaige dodged them against the force field. He looked to his wall attempting to anticipate the bolts.

"Watch out!" I yelled as three bolts came at once. Two bolts flew from Kaige's wall side and one from mine. The bolt hurled confidentially at the back of his head where a hole shifted. Years of training my mind's eye predicted it. I leaped catching the bolt with my fist. I feel to the ground clenching my hand in excruciating agony.

My hand throbbed, my brain confused, and the lighting strikes twice. All I manage was groans for my fist as bolts filled the room at every level. I rolled about on the floor unable to assist Kaige. Only twenty seconds had passed, I failed to hear Kaige get hurt.

I crawled towards the center of the room with bolts still coming strong. My inborn instinct jerked my body forward because a bolt grazed my elbow. I stood up noticing Kaige dodging all the bolts filling the room. Was I going to be as lucky?

"What happened, Max?" Kaige said. He moved aside of two bolts in a line. I examined my surroundings frantically.

"It's a stinging pain, man. Don't get hit." I noticed new doors slither open on the opposite side of our entrance. Each door wide enough for a dragon and hedgehog to pass through.

"If we can hold out we might make it...look!" I pointed to our doors. Kaige had to dance and limbo slightly to avoid his slew of bolts. I ran sideways several times like trotting over a carpet. It took a minute for the doors to open half-way.

"Another minute should do it." I said. Ten seconds later too many bolts erupted. It hit Kaige in the knee and me on the shoulder as the bolts subsided to the normal frequency. I saw out of my squinting eyes the doors slowing.

"Kaige, Kaige, don't get hit. Disrupting the bolts breaks the doors connection."

"Easier said than done, Max." Kaige got up sprinting for the door. I stood up to avoid more bolts. Two bolts passed over both my shoulders. Maybe the doors opened enough now?

Kaige dodged the last bolts at his door to squeeze through. I couldn't quite squeeze through mine. Multiple bolts headed towards me. I had less time to return to the center of the room.

A shower of bolts erupted again. Predicting the angle of the holes in the glass I took a bow holding up my arms. One bolt hit my collar ricocheting into another bolt erupting golden fireworks.

Exhaustion set in so I ran again for the door entering it into a totally dark room. The door slammed behind me. I felt around for a minute to find a hole. I reluctantly reached in to find a lever. As I grabbed it a force field hoisted me up into the air releasing my grip of the lever.

I couldn't see what was happening but I could feel cold metal straps firmly fasten over my wrists. Then my ankles, torso, and shoulders. A plastic helmet protected my eyes, nose, ears, and temple as a light began to shimmer.

I felt my body suspended like I was half way through a snow angle. I felt a thin metal under me like I was strapped on a cross or an X.

I squinted as the light flooded onto me. This contraption carried me into a fairly lit room stopping over the floor about forty feet below. I made out a figure in a booth room in front of me behind tinted glass.

"Hello!" I yelled. "Hey!" My eyes widened. My heart pumped as I saw the figure aim a gun.

"No, no, don't shoot me! Who the hell are you?" The bullet bounced off the wall behind me. "Ok, ok, what do you want?"

"Sorry, just testing." Kaige said.

"Oh, oh, Kaige." Fifty feet away, Kaige took another gun that a conveyor belt sent to him.

"No sweat, Max. They're only bee-bee guns. I was aiming for the bull's-eye behind you. You can't see it but it's there, man-."

"But why?" I asked before looking down into the room to see a light through a door below Kaige.

"I know you can't see it Kaige but there's a door below you. When you missed I thought I saw it move. Shoot the bull's-eye again."Kaige locked and aimed under me. And fired.

_No, no "_Kaige, hold on. What did you hit?"

"I hit the edge."

"Damn. The light is dimmer. It looks like you need to hit a bull's-eye. Where is it?" The sight pointed straight at my heart. "Wait, it's centered there of course." The gun moved slightly left.

"Max, I can see part of the red circle thin around your torso and thinner beside your chest. You are in the way."

"Well, I don't think I can move right now." Then I saw something appear in a mirror above Kaige. A picture of my restaurant when Kaige and I got in a fight. I struck Kaige with my car. Somebody was taking pictures. That meant...

"No, Kaige. No, man. You forget it. That was a long time ago." The gun didn't move. I couldn't tell if it aimed at the bull's eye. What was Kaige thinking?

"Hey, man. Hey..." The gun fired as it hurled left. Kaige had second thoughts. I didn't. All I knew was the bullet hit off the metal strap and into the wall.

"I wonder if there's any penalty for hitting you." Kaige asked? The gun came back and Kaige aimed it at my torso as the image changed. I cut in front of Kaige in the Candy Stand line.

"Kaige, Kaige, Kaige, my boy. You have wonder aim. Now hit the target." I felt the bullet whiz by so I squirmed.

"Success!" Kaige said. I told him the door opened a bit.

"Thanks, Kaige." He was silent. Was he trying to hit me? I didn't find an answer as I began to rock back and forth.

"The bull's-eye is moving backwards and trying to stay with you." Kaige said. An even more recent image where I replaced the cake candles with stinky scented ones at his birthday.

"That birthday was special, Max. You ruined it and embarrassed me in front of Sonic and my family."

"Whoa, whoa, Kaige. Just take your time. And get over it!" I exhaled to shave off the dizziness. The gun swayed back and forth like I or the bull's-eye. I needed to see his eyes. "I saved you back there. I do care about you."

The bullet whizzed over my shoulder now. The door below soon opened some more.

"Bull's-eye!" I yelled.

"Barely-" Kaige said. I began to twirl. My heart was pumping faster.

"What's going on?" I said.

Kaige replied. "The bull's-eye split in three. I have to hit between your limbs...one...two...wait, you're going too fast now...um...sorry."

I've never been hit by a bee-bee before. It felt like being jabbed by a needle. I groaned. I had nothing to bite onto. It got my left leg. The bullet, not Kaige.

"At least-the door didn't shut-." I said. "Only if you miss-the bull's-eye completely...uh, I'm going to puke from all this spinning. Keep trying, Kaige."

Kaige had another gun. "Ok...now!"

It worked. I stopped spinning as the door below opened about 3/4 the way. "Almost there, Kaige. NOW. Wait, what." I began rotating.

"In order for me to hit the one bull's-eye again, Max. I will have to shoot when you're not facing me. I'll need to see your side, but you're rotating pretty fast."

"You're doing great, Kaige. I was wrong for all the bad things, man. But dude, I'm in real pain, my limbs hurt real badly. I'm very worried. This is what I get for being bad to you."

"Let me concentrate now, Max." Kaige said. "I could hit you in the armpit or graze your stomach. Did you have a preference? The bulls-eye fills your thigh to your neck."

"Sorry, Kaige. Choose one-because my mouth tastes like acid. I'm going to...barf. This is the carnival ride from hell!"

"Ok," Kaige said. "I'm going to get the feel for it."

The world was fast, but in slow motion. I hoped for Kaige's ability to save me. But I know he won't be able to. I heard the trigger after feeling sharp pain on my back shoulder. Kaige swore again and again to save me. I rotated around as if slow motion, and, I knew I'd deserved all of it.

I closed my eyes from the pain. I wanted to pass out. I opened them a few seconds later as another bullet struck my stomach. I couldn't hold it anymore. I let dinner fall to the floor below. I was eating my food all over again as it was eating me. The bullet, the fork, the knife, and the spoon. I was definitely full of myself.

Kaige hit the bull's-eye a few more times, a couple, I don't know. Had I died? I floated away. Was it my time to go?

I woke up a few minutes later from disorientation with Kaige looking over me. I barely made out his words. I looked to the metal X slab on the floor in the same room.

Kaige pointed out when the door opened down her it opened a door allowing him descend stairs from the firing room.

It all reminded me of the time I visited the mountains. I was climbing it with a friend who wanted to get a bird's eye view of the world and to test the strength of his body. One day we were captured by Yak Bandits.

They forced us into revealing information. They strung our bodies up in the cold cave. They really thought we were there to apprehend them thinking we were with the Mobotropolis Secret Force. They tortured my friend to death while I had to watch. They let me free to warn others about them.

I knew Kaige's thoughts. He helped me onto my feet as we entered the new room. This has to end here.

"How many more of these?" Kaige said. He let me stand on my own going for an altar. I staggered over to a small pit clutching my gut. A small brass key lied in it. I jumped in and pocked it. I jumped back out.

The dome-shaped room had four pillars in the center ten by ten with an altar between them. A white light shined from the ceiling 30 feet up. The stones were a more natural mustard color. Kaige turned to me. "You look all right now, Max. There's nothing here. Lets keep going."

Kaige headed for the door opposite the room again. As I passed between two pillars a force field shielded the door and a crispy voice spoke up.

[Max, Max, Max, Max, Max, Max. We're you being too straight-forward with yourself trying to get out. You forgot something again.]

What now, Man. Or Woman?

[Did you find a brass key in the pit? I bet you did. Did you tell Kaige?]

I was going to in a minute.

[The perfect I'm going to forget speech. That was a simple test. Despite all you've been through you're keeping secrets from the one you now care about...]

Wait, I didn't mean...

[Too late, Max. You are almost done, but since you have the key to yourself you will have to find the way out on your own. Therefore, Kaige, you are free.]

"What are the rules of this game? Hey!" I shouted to the ceiling.

"Now wait a minute..." Kaige trailed off as a force field levitated him up through a ceiling hole that shut after.

[Max. What do you have to say for yourself?] I heard from the ominous voice.

"...Fuck you!"

[Don't do anything to hurt yourself again, Max. This means it's totally up to you to make it the rest of the way. You have the satisfaction Kaige is free.]

I didn't want to admit he was right. I'm fed up. I took it out on the altar with my fist. I turned for the next room. If this wasn't the last one...

The door closed behind me where I entered a room ten-feet wide and about thirty feet across. A metal grate went across the floor and ceiling. I saw square holes on both walls. A peg on one side was missing. It looked like a Sun symbol.

Then I felt cold on foot that rose to my ankle. I looked down to my sandals and saw water coming from the grate. Square tiles dispensed from a hole in the ceiling onto the rising water. In the end it was my hesitation that got the best of me.

The water was already knee high as jets turned the water. The water was cool and the square pegs with different symbols turned about with the waves. I reached out to inspect one. It looked like a human symbol but I didn't know what it meant. I pocketed it in the brown outfit my captor provided.

If it weren't for this collar I could use a power against the upper grates. Then I noticed someone walk onto them up on the other side.

"Hey, whose there. I need some help!"

"Max, it's me."

Thank you, Kaige.

"Is there a button or something to get me outta here?" The room is filling with water and it's up to my waist. Hurry!"

"I don't see anything, Max. There are symbols on the two walls though. A door leading to the outside is here too."

"I have square pegs down here. What do the symbols read?"

"The one closest to the door is a sun. The one furthest is a moon."

"Hey, read them all off from the Sun to the moon." The water was at my shoulders. The symbols in my room reached up over my head.

"Sun, Earth, Wind, Fire, Man, Animal, Water, Idea, Knowledge, Moon."

"Ok, I'll put the pegs in that order on the blank sides."

I swam for all the pegs and made it to animal before I had to really start diving down to put one in. The top of the water was extremely violent. I had a hard time swimming and keeping up with the pegs. I had only two pockets that fit one peg each into them.

"Kaige, Kaige. Did you see where the water peg went?"

"It's in the corner, Max." He kneeled to the grate. I was only five more feet or so to the top. It was hard to see over the raging water.

"I don't know if I can make it, Kaige. I'm exhausted and the pegs are under water."

"Don't panic, Max. You're the strongest guy around. I know you can get out of there."

I swallowed water and began back floating as I approached Kaige. I reached for the grate under him. His claw finger nails grasping on. I tried to grasp for them, but didn't.

I had a foot left of maneuverability. I felt a peg bump into my neck. I took it and had to submerge for a moment to pocket it. I went vertical as the water reached my ears.

"Good bye, Man. I'm sorry about everything. Please tell everyone that. I can't...I can't...hold on."

"Max-!" Kaige pulled on the grate. I took a deep breath.

I heard his desperate struggle with the metal from under water. I listened to the spray of all the jets. Was there singing too? I watched the peg slip out of the pocket I didn't fasten. I should have been smarter...and stronger too.

It was all my fault. In the end I failed to save myself. I let go of the happiness with the ones who cared about me. If I had tried harder I wouldn't find myself falling.

Yes, that's what happened. I began to descend with the water. I broke for air as the water quickly drained probably through the grate under me. I braced for the bottom that came. As I landed all the pegs dislodged and the water only receded to about one foot high.

"Max, are you ok? What happened?

"It resets after thirty seconds. Quickly, what's the order of the pegs now?"

I opened my eyes to the moving blue skies. After I had put the pegs in I passed out. I turned my head to see Kaige driving. I was lying down in the passenger seat. I recognized this as his hover convertible.

"Uh...where are we now?" I asked trying to sit up.

"Good. You're awake. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Really?""Yes, we're to address the King and the Pedigree Council tomorrow. Tomorrow is Thursday or did you have too much fun in that guy's funhouse."

"Who was responsible?"

Kaige shifted gear. "Some old guy with a computer spell book. Sonic has dealt with him in the past. We're still unsure of his identity."

"What happened?""He entranced you to sleep after you got the right peg order. He told me he has been watching the actions of fellow wizards and wanted to teach you a lesson."

Kaige licked his beak.

"He said you'd wake in a half hour after he was long gone. He vanished and that temple we were in shrunk with him. The collars and everything vanished too." "Oh, boy. I really did it this time, Kaige. Are you going to be all cool with the tourney this weekend?"

"If you let me win."

I gave him an accused stare. "I don't know, man. Just get me to the hospital."

A smile crept on Kaige's face so I lied down the other way.


End file.
